“You’re F***ed” – Ricky Ponting on David Warner during World Cup 2019

David Warner is one of the most destructive players in the cricket world. He is an Australian international cricketer and a former captain of the Australian national team in limited-overs cricket. The veteran cricketer made headlines in 2018 for being caught in an incident of ball-tampering. 

Warner along with his captain Steve Smith and teammate Cameron Bancroft were found guilty of tampering the ball using sandpaper in a match against South Africa. This incident shook the foundation of Australian Cricket. As a punishment, Smith, and Warner were banned from playing any form of cricket for about 12 months while Bancroft served a suspension of 9 months. 

David Warner shined like a superstar in the World Cup with 647 runs in 10 innings. Despite being at the receiving end of booing from the English crowd, the Australia opener has marched on, playing gritty knocks. He was the second-highest run-getter batsman just after India’s Rohit Sharma. Warner smashed three centuries and three half-centuries during the World Cup 2019. He also slammed the highest score in a single match in this edition of the World Cup (166 off 147 balls vs Bangladesh).

David Warner feared to bat against India 

Warner made an explosive come back last year in the World Cup 2019. The Australian opener played significant knocks against Afghanistan and West Indies. However, problems started arising for this legend after his uncharacteristic innings of 56 runs in 84 balls while chasing a huge target of 353 runs against India’s bowling line up. 

In the recently released sports documentary ”The Test”, Warner admitted that he batted with fear against India’s bowling attack. He further added that after getting Finch run out, he was scared to play fearlessly. He didn’t want to take the risk and get himself out. 

Post-match, David Warner discussed his situation with their batting coach Ricky Ponting who gave him some real peace of mind. His advice proved to be beneficial for the left-handed batsman. 

“If you’re scared about getting out, f*** that. You’ve got to be thinking about getting runs, not be worried about making a mistake,” Ponting said.

“I’ve been there, you start thinking about making mistakes as a player, you’re f***ed. At the end of the day, all of you have got nothing to fear, nothing to lose right now.”

“You are the best cricket team in the tournament. If you keep holding back and being fearful of things, this is going to get harder and harder.

“Keep backing yourself and backing your skills and imposing yourself on the game when the opportunity presents itself.”

Warner admitted that Ponting’s honest opinion was harsh but useful for his future innings. 

He acknowledged that “When you’re in a team environment, and you’re giving feedback in front of a group, it can be quite confronting sometimes,”

“It really hit me, and I was just like, ‘OK, I’ll take that on board’.”